Re:Congress Is Poised to Introduce a Bill to Fast Track TPP ...
by ctdonath on Friday February 27, 2015 @10:07AM
(#9119201)
Hence my point about the right-wing base being so mad. Winning candidates spew just enough "small government" rhetoric to get elected, then forget about it when in power.
A major problem is primaries. A slew of would-be candidates vie for the ticket, most of them being actual "small government" types, but the party vote gets split among them ... while a single "centrist"/"large government" candidate appeals to the left/centrist voters of the party, and garners more votes. If 70% of the party really does want "small government", with the 30% remaining wanting a "left/centrist" candidate, and there's 8 primary candidates, and 7 of them split the 70% vote into about 10% each, but the dissenting 30% minority all go for the "should be a Democrat" (aka "Republican In Name Only", aka RINO), then the "large government" candidate wins with 3 times the votes of any competitors. This has happened repeatedly, and is leaving the bulk of the Republican "base" very angry but with no viable alternatives that won't result in the Democrat winning thanks to splitting the vote on the way to replacing the Republican party.
A major problem is primaries. A slew of would-be candidates vie for the ticket, most of them being actual "small government" types, but the party vote gets split among them ... while a single "centrist"/"large government" candidate appeals to the left/centrist voters of the party, and garners more votes. If 70% of the party really does want "small government", with the 30% remaining wanting a "left/centrist" candidate, and there's 8 primary candidates, and 7 of them split the 70% vote into about 10% each, but the dissenting 30% minority all go for the "should be a Democrat" (aka "Republican In Name Only", aka RINO), then the "large government" candidate wins with 3 times the votes of any competitors. This has happened repeatedly, and is leaving the bulk of the Republican "base" very angry but with no viable alternatives that won't result in the Democrat winning thanks to splitting the vote on the way to replacing the Republican party.